Breakthrough Prize

Breakthrough Prize 2018: Winners

Recipients

  1. Fundamental Physics

    Charles L. Bennett, Gary Hinshaw, Norman Jarosik, Lyman Page, David N. Spergel

    Physics

    For detailed maps of the early universe that greatly improved our knowledge of the evolution of the cosmos and the fluctuations that seeded the formation of galaxies.

  2. Life Sciences

    Don W. Cleveland

    Biology

    for elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of a type of inherited ALS, including the role of glia in neurodegeneration, and for establishing antisense oligonucleotide therapy in animal models of ALS and Huntington disease.

  3. Life Sciences

    Joanne Chory

    Biology

    for discovering how plants optimize their growth, development, and cellular structure to transform sunlight into chemical energy.

  4. Life Sciences

    Kim Nasmyth

    Biology

    for elucidating the sophisticated mechanism that mediates the perilous separation of duplicated chromosomes during cell division and thereby prevents genetic diseases such as cancer.

  5. Life Sciences

    Peter Walter

    Biology

    for elucidating the unfolded protein response, a cellular quality-control system that detects disease-causing unfolded proteins and directs cells to take corrective measures.

  6. Mathematics

    Christopher Hacon, James McKernan

    Math

    for transformational contributions to birational algebraic geometry, especially to the minimal model program in all dimensions.